Ringo Says The Beatles Weren't Done

Ringo Starr says The Beatles did plan to record again after Abbey Road.

Corroborating Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn's comments about a recently discovered audio tape, the drummer told BBC radio that, in 1969, the foursome were not ruling out further sessions.

He says, "We did do Abbey Road and we was like, 'Okay that's pretty good'... but none of us said, 'OK, that's the last time we'll ever play together.' Nobody said that. I never felt that."

Ringo recalls how Paul McCartney would ask the other Beatles if they wanted to record again and quotes the song "The End." "So it was not the end -- because in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make. So I never felt it [the end of the band] was in stone."

About the album's closing medley, "On side two, everybody wasn't finishing the songs. But that medley? It works so great." The secret was weaving the fragments together. "It's like we could do no wrong: You don't have to finish the song! Let's just edit them together and it works like a mini-play."

Ringo covered John Lennon's "Grow Old With Me" on his latest album, What's My Name? The original demo was recorded in 1980, and Ringo made his own version after producer Jack Douglas's tip that John had name-dropped him. "'Oh, that sounds like a good song for Richard Starkey. This would be great for you, Ringo.' I still well up thinking about it."

While John's version was dedicated to Yoko Ono and Ringo's to Barbara Bach, he feels the song has greater potential. "I think every bride should make their nearly husband sing it to her. I want it to become like the wedding song of the century!"